Year in Review: 2009 was this beach boy's year in the sun. Wilson did everything you could want a young closer to do. He upped his strikeout rate (10.33 in 2009, 9.36 career), cut his walk rate (3.36 in 2009, 3.97 career), and cut his home-run rate (0.37 in 2009, 0.48 career). He even gained a few ticks on his vaunted fastball (96.6 mph, +14.6 runs). Some of his success may have come from a change in his arsenal – he threw fewer sliders (5.9% in 2009, 12.8% career) and more cutters (24.5% in 2009, 14.5% career). Though it would be nice for Wilson to get batters to reach more (18.8% career), batters still aren't making contact (77.3% in 2009). Bill James projects Wilson to lose some of the control gains he made, which seems reasonable given his struggles in the upper minors (4.7 BB/9 in 2006, 5.8 in 2007).

The Year Ahead: Good closers on mediocre baseball clubs often make for great sleepers. When that mediocre ballclub struggles to score runs and plays a lot of close games (and plays in a park that suppresses home runs), that closer can even be preferable to the bigger names out there, especially if he comes at a cheaper price tag. Maybe everyone knows about Wilson, though, in which case you have to remember to discount him for potential control (and, therefore, WHIP) problems in the future. But if he falls into the double-digit rounds, and your team doesn't have a closer yet… giddy-up. Wilson does a lot of things right (strikeouts, saves, health – so far), and even his walk rate from 2008 (4.04 BB/9) wouldn't kill your team in limited innings (67 a year on average). (Eno Sarris)

Profile: Every year that he’s been in the big leagues, Wilson has gotten better and better, culminating with a superb 2010 campaign. Wilson had an ERA under 2.00, and struck out 93 batters in just under 75 innings. His walk rate was his lowest since 2007, and his ability to make batters miss has never been better. Not only does Wilson strike out his fair share of batters, he also does a good job of getting ground balls and limiting home runs, making big innings harder and harder for opponents. While he probably won’t have an ERA below 2.00 in 2011, there’s a good chance it will be around the 2.50 mark, which is still extremely valuable. Thanks to his wicked sweet beard and postseason triumphs being viewed by millions on national T.V., Wilson is in line for a bump in his ADP. He’s good -- really good -- but he’s not going to be worth the price that it will require to snatch him up. (Zach Sanders)

The Quick Opinion: Wilson is a fantastic closer, sporting both the ability to strike batters out and keep the ball on the ground. However, thanks to his performance in the World Series, he won't be worth the price you have to pay to get him.

Profile: Like so many other Giants, Wilson failed to build on the success he enjoyed in 2010 and saw a downturn in virtually every aspect of his game. His strikoeut-to-walk ratio dropped from a 3.58 to a very pedestrian 1.74, his WHIP climbed to a 1.47, and although he was only charged with five blown saves on the year, every outing became a nail-biting, tension-filled moment. To make matters worse, Wilson also missed a substantial amount of time in the second half with elbow problems. It seemed the only thing he did right was score endorsement deals and that helped neither the Giants nor his fantasy owners. Wilson enters 2012 as both the Giants’ closer and an impending free agent. Perhaps with a shave and a clean slate he can return to his upper tier form. (Howard Bender)

The Quick Opinion: In the final year of his contract, Wilson needs to prove that 2011 was an aberration and that he is ready to return to elite closer status. If the elbow problems are a thing of the past and he can regain the command he apparently lost, then Wilson should be able to produce numbers worthy of a top five closer. Understand the level of risk that comes along with him.

Profile: Wilson had only a short time at the end of 2013 to prove he'd recovered from a second Tommy John surgery. He convinced the Dodgers, apparently, as they inked him to a $10 million contract to ostensibly be a setup man. He was pretty great in 2013 in fairness, posting a 0.66 ERA and accumulating .04 WAR in just 13.2 innings. He'd be next in line to get saves (if you're into that sort of thing) if something were to happen to Kenley Jansen, but he's even a solid play as a guy who will get strikeouts without suffering in any other category. (David Temple)

The Quick Opinion: If he stays healthy, he'll have some value.

Profile: “Fear the Beard” took on an entirely different meaning for Dodgers fans in 2014. Beyond Kenley Jansen and some good innings from Pedro Baez, the Dodgers’ bullpen was something of a mess. Wilson added to that instability, recording 10 meltdowns against 18 shutdowns. (By comparison, Jansen had seven and 34, respectively). Wilson did gain back some of the velocity on his four-seamer that he lost as he battled back from elbow injuries, throwing it around 94 mph through June, but it began to trail off until it was averaging around 89 in just 6.2 September innings. Considering that he pitched 15.2 innings combined in 2012-2013, the drop in velocity could just mean that he’s still building up arm strength after missing so much time. On the whole, however, he was unable generate grounders in the way that he used to, he gave up a lot of hard hit balls, and he walked way too many batters. He was released by the Dodgers in December, and now will have to catch on with a new team as he tries to work his way back to being a contributor. (Robert J. Baumann)

The Quick Opinion: Time will tell if the Beard will elicit fear in hitters again, but recent injuries, poor performance, and a lack of a home render Wilson a non-factor on draft day.

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